banskie Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 I moved to South Florida recently and dragged my 04 stock banshee along. A buddy of mine here has got me into XC racing. I can just tell this quad is not cut out for this. I usually rode gravel pits and sand back in Minnesota, but this racing through trails, palm meadows, and caprock is ridiculous! Dont get me wrong Im lovin it but these 450s are tearin me up!! Ive already ordered +2+1's and Elka, now just need to look at possibly shortening the swing arm. I love the shee, be she just isnt cut out for this bone stock. Any ideas?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phx450 Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Many will disagree with me on this but if you are into XC or MX sell the banshee. I know, I know, but its the truth and sometimes the truth hurts. I have a banshee and it only is a dune/drag/wide open bike. For the Track and racing desert i have a 450 yama quad and its great. Dont get me wrong you can always order suspension/shocks/motor work to help but i chose not too. Sorry for the bad info if you take it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bansh-eman Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 Many will disagree with me on this but if you are into XC or MX sell the banshee. I know, I know, but its the truth and sometimes the truth hurts. I have a banshee and it only is a dune/drag/wide open bike. For the Track and racing desert i have a 450 yama quad and its great. Dont get me wrong you can always order suspension/shocks/motor work to help but i chose not too. Sorry for the bad info if you take it! i 100% agree... you cant passup the torque and lowend power a 4 stroke puts out when your riding small tracks and jumps. not to mention the suspension is better on most the new 4 strokes... a power band is great but on a small track you dont get into the meat and potatos of the power that the motor can deliver. wide open riding draggin , hands down ill take a 2 stroke. but trails mx , 4 stroke cant be beat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kama Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 I moved to South Florida recently and dragged my 04 stock banshee along. A buddy of mine here has got me into XC racing. I can just tell this quad is not cut out for this. I usually rode gravel pits and sand back in Minnesota, but this racing through trails, palm meadows, and caprock is ridiculous! Dont get me wrong Im lovin it but these 450s are tearin me up!! Ive already ordered +2+1's and Elka, now just need to look at possibly shortening the swing arm. I love the shee, be she just isnt cut out for this bone stock. Any ideas?? Sadly and as bad as I hate to agree with these guys. Its true. I on the other hand race XC on my banshee and the only real problem I have is heat disipation. Slower section will heat them up in no time. If its all you have, then there is nothing wrong w/ racing them. They are a good reliable easily maintained quad. I personally can not stand the way the yfz or the 450r's sit. I hate feeling that high and like I'm about to go over the bars. I will ride my banshee til shee craps out on me and can never be rebuilt. But if you get the chance and you like the bike, its a good idea to switch to a 4 stroke. There is no sub for the low end torque of a 4 stroke. The main thing I did to make mine more ridable in XC was suspension. I'm running stock width (b/c the narrowness of the banshee gives you a considerable advantage over 4 stroke width) with elka elite's up front and a rebuilt stock on the rear until I can afford an elite rear and linkage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftdT4R Posted February 9, 2007 Report Share Posted February 9, 2007 I'm going to diagree, you probably won't get much for the banshee, and then assuming you bought a brand enw bike, and thre some mods on it, you would definately have been better off to mod the shee. You can get some decent useable power out of these bikes, there are several people on here that race GNCC with them, and I think a lot of it boils down to preference. The geometry of the frame sucks, but go -1 swinger, wider axles and a-arms, and you will have a decent handling bike, I think mine was on par with a stock YFZ, when I had my my works shocks on it. Also, if you plan on working on the bike yourself, a lot of the negine work on the new 4strokes is impossible unless you have a really great garage setup. Most of the ebarings are pressed into the cases, and the parts are going to be expensive. The banshee will be by far easier and cheaper to work on. There are some nasty GNCC bikes on here, go under the MX section, and there is a post called Post Your Beast, to give you some ideas. I don't race my bike, I run power line cuts in NY, and some trails down here in NJ, I don't ride with professionals, but I have never had a problem keeping up with any bike. My buddies have just about everything from DSs to 250Rs to YFZs and TRXs. And I had my bike with +4 timing, FMFs, +2+1 arms, and Works suspension, and I would run hard all day long, and be just as fast if not faster through any portion of the trails. Just my .02, also, I would wait for some more feedback before making a decision, a lot of the previous posts were from drag guys, I'm sure some MXers will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodro77 Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 i have ohlins front shocks and +2 aarms on the front and a pep rear and my banshee doesnt handle as good as my brothers stock trx 450 suspension , im not even going to get into the shitty geometry or the lack of bottom end power . im not nocking the banshee at all but if you plan on xc racing get a 450 to be competitive . if you are racing on a banshee you are just handicapping yourself , unless it straight line , hillclimb or drag then its all banshee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftdT4R Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 i have ohlins front shocks and +2 aarms on the front and a pep rear and my banshee doesnt handle as good as my brothers stock trx 450 suspension Damn you really think so? I used to own a stock 660 Raptor, and my brother has a stock YFZ, I think my banshee with +2+1 arms, -1 swinger, and full works suspension handled a lot better through trails then both of them. Ive never ridden a TRX, but I have no problem keeping up with them in the trails. I don;t know, the YFZ and Rappy sat way too high for me, but I'm only 5'6", 140lbs, also It really seemed like I had to strect out on them to reach the bars and the nerfs. The ride was stiff IMO, and the rebound was too quick on all the shocks. My banshee with all the works shit held it's own, it was no where near a 250r, but I could kick it around pretty easy, and always kept it in the right direction. Like I said, I don't compete, and I don't keep up with GNCCs that much, but from my experience my banshee has done very well trail riding, even through the tight stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodro77 Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Damn you really think so? I used to own a stock 660 Raptor, and my brother has a stock YFZ, I think my banshee with +2+1 arms, -1 swinger, and full works suspension handled a lot better through trails then both of them. Ive never ridden a TRX, but I have no problem keeping up with them in the trails. I don;t know, the YFZ and Rappy sat way too high for me, but I'm only 5'6", 140lbs, also It really seemed like I had to strect out on them to reach the bars and the nerfs. The ride was stiff IMO, and the rebound was too quick on all the shocks. My banshee with all the works shit held it's own, it was no where near a 250r, but I could kick it around pretty easy, and always kept it in the right direction. Like I said, I don't compete, and I don't keep up with GNCCs that much, but from my experience my banshee has done very well trail riding, even through the tight stuff. im not trying to take anything away from the banshee , i really love the power . but if look at all the riders using the new 450s , even the privateer's that can use any bike they want because their not under contract with a big bike company . my shee rides very good with my suspension , alot better than alot of quads i ride with. but the new bike are so much better , i i agree the the raptor sits very high , feels like its going to tip easy and im 6'2'', i have 2 brothers one has trx 450 and the other has the yfz 450 , so i rode them both the yfz you said was too stiff , if you set it up for your weight and set the race sag it would be better . i also think the trx 450 rides better than the 250r just my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftdT4R Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 im not trying to take anything away from the banshee , i really love the power . but if look at all the riders using the new 450s , even the privateer's that can use any bike they want because their not under contract with a big bike company . my shee rides very good with my suspension , alot better than alot of quads i ride with. but the new bike are so much better , i i agree the the raptor sits very high , feels like its going to tip easy and im 6'2'', i have 2 brothers one has trx 450 and the other has the yfz 450 , so i rode them both the yfz you said was too stiff , if you set it up for your weight and set the race sag it would be better . i also think the trx 450 rides better than the 250r just my 2 cents Damn, I gotta give a TRX a shot, the YFZ is my brothers, and he has a good 50lbs and 6" on me, so even if he had it set up for his weight, it wouldt be right for me. I remeber a few eyars ago when everyone was racing a Leager 250r, they were the weapon of choice for a long time. I wasn't overly impressed with the YFZ, I know when he blew the bottom end(common problem with oil lube), it cost him a fortune have it all repaired, because he couldnt do the work himself. Also, he's piped and jetted with some holeshots, and I would beat him no problem in a straight line drag through all the gears with my 02. And I definately held my own in the trails too. He's a better rider then me, he has me by 5 years experience or so. He spent around 6-7k total on the bike before the bottom end went, and I only have maybe 4k into my banshee( I bought my shee used, and he bought his YFZ new). I would much rather air out my shee any day of the week. But, I know we are talking about GNCC here, and like I said I don't compete, so I don't know how much of this is going to matter to the thread starter, just my .02 so far. How serious are you going to be about the racing? As long as your not gonna run pro classes, and just some amateur stuff, I think you can build a pretty competetive shee for a decent price. Maybe some more MXers will chime in here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
differentstrokes Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Most people on this site are pro-yamaha, but my TRX is the shit and yes, I tried a YFZ450 before I bought the honda. As far as the 2 vs. 4 stroke thing, I can rip a banshee in the woods on the TRX. I'm lucky I have both but if I could only choose one it would be the TRX for best overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftdT4R Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Most people on this site are pro-yamaha, but my TRX is the shit and yes, I tried a YFZ450 before I bought the honda. As far as the 2 vs. 4 stroke thing, I can rip a banshee in the woods on the TRX. I'm lucky I have both but if I could only choose one it would be the TRX for best overall. Damn, anyone in NJ have a TRX I can try out. I never heard that much about them before, and the couple kids that came upstate with us that had them, didn't try to play them up or anything, but I'm kinda wantin' to pick one up now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
differentstrokes Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 You'd like it alot. Check mine out, I need to try and get a sound clip up for you too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodro77 Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 Damn, anyone in NJ have a TRX I can try out. I never heard that much about them before, and the couple kids that came upstate with us that had them, didn't try to play them up or anything, but I'm kinda wantin' to pick one up now. if you came to ny you could try my bro's trx 450 . hes got the HRC kit and a couple other things and he gives my shee a run , in a drag sometimes he wins and sometimes i win , i just got new carbs and i havent ran him with them but i think i got him now. any ways you are more than welcome to ride with us and try it out. hows the riding in new jersy maybe we do some riding near you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98bonerSTOCKshee Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 I just recently started running our local MX series here... I am by no means an experienced racer.. We do 4 lap motos on a 1.5 mile mx track. By the 4th lap my 1st race I could barely hang on anymore because of the arm-pump.. Had to let a 400ex come by me then... The 1st two laps the banshee rocks it's just my poor upper strength that gives out.. The powerband is not a problem, as I know how to work the clutch, which also contributes to my arm pump.. Since the 1st race I have been working on my upper arm strength and can last the whole race now.. I have plus 3 plus 1 a arms with just the cheap Elka's (a suspension upgrade would help alot), stock swinger and minor motor mods running the good ole T-5's.. The lightened flywheel also help the shee rev to the powerband.. I have had a few of the more experinced riders checking out the shee, remembering their shee days.. They say once they got on the new 4 strokers with the suspension they have alot more energy after each race. Will I change I doubt it. I may upgrade the shee alittle more, but I race just for fun... Gonna start running a pitbike class also, so I may give up running the shee... DUNNO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftdT4R Posted February 10, 2007 Report Share Posted February 10, 2007 You'd like it alot. Check mine out, I need to try and get a sound clip up for you too. Damn, that is one sick looking bike! What kind of front fender is that? Full bore? It looks a lot like the old 250Rs, I just might have to pick up one after I finish my project this summer. if you came to ny you could try my bro's trx 450 . hes got the HRC kit and a couple other things and he gives my shee a run , in a drag sometimes he wins and sometimes i win , i just got new carbs and i havent ran him with them but i think i got him now. any ways you are more than welcome to ride with us and try it out. hows the riding in new jersy maybe we do some riding near you Damn man, I might have to take you up on that. The riding here is ok, basically we have 2 places, JC and Manchester. They arent legal, but the cops don't bother us that much. I had a few PMs from people around here and I think we might be getting a ride together when the weather lets up, I'll let ya know for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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